Survive and Escape by Matt Thornton
43 reviews · 4.95 / 5
Matt Thornton · Combo
The Closed Guard Compendium by Matt Thornton reviews
The Closed Guard Compendium by Matt Thornton has 28 customer reviews in this archive, averaging 5.0 out of 5. 100% are five-star and 0 are one or two stars. Reviews run from May 14, 2020 to July 27, 2026. All of them are published below in full, unedited.
28
Reviews
5.0 / 5
Average rating
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Verified buyers
5 star28 (100%)
4 star0 (0%)
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Who reviewed The Closed Guard Compendium by Matt Thornton
10 of these reviewers gave their belt rank when they submitted the review. BJJ Fanatics asks for rank, age and years training at the point of review, so this breakdown is self-reported by the customer.
| Belt | Reviews | Average rating |
|---|---|---|
| Purple | 4 | 5.0 |
| Black | 3 | 5.0 |
| Blue | 2 | 5.0 |
| White | 1 | 5.0 |
Where to buy it
The Closed Guard Compendium by Matt Thornton is currently listed on the BJJ Fanatics storefront at $159.00 USD. View The Closed Guard Compendium by Matt Thornton on BJJ Fanatics
The reviews
Best system for close guard. Each lesson has amazing follow through that make it easy to pratice
closed guard SBG
Very informative
Comprehensive
This is a video about how to move inside the closed guard. It isn't a compendium of techniques. The only technique taught is body technique, but that is more than enough. This has been a really revolutionary video for me, it has really changed my game for the better.
Great Info and thorough
This is solid and very comprehensive!
No fluff, very logical and easy to follow explanations. Puts a fresh new shine on one of the first guards you learn in bij.
C.J.
Excellent material. You get so many useable concepts with techniques.
A unique instructional
Love Matt's approach to coaching and developing skill in BJJ. Focusing on Aliveness and drilling.
great fundamental review
This is an excellent complement to Henry Akins’s Closed Guard instructional. Even as a novice, I can confidently say that I can compete with higher belts—at least to some extent.
Great
Seeing the techniques and principles drilled live is very helpful.
Great course
There are a lot of hidden details that are usually not covered, so this is a great resource to check and get a better bottom closed guard!
Fundamental Closed Guard. All You Really Need.
Matt Thornton and his instructors at SBG are the best. If you don't want complex counter-for-counter sequences to remember, this stuff is golden. They reduce the complex to the fundamental and demonstrate what you really need to know. This not only saves time in learning the closed guard, it will actually make you better.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:clap::skin-tone-3::clap::skin-tone-3:Technique, Technique, Technique
I strongly recommend practicing every technique with a training partner to really develop your closed guard. Once my weakest skill is not one of my strongest because of this instructional. I often frustrate higher belts with these techniques and the best part is many don't understand what is actually being done. Five stars for this instructional. Just be sure to practice and drill the technques and strategies to get the most out of the videos.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging:the
Matt Thornton always dies in depth reviews of fundamentals. excellent coach and content.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging:Outstanding conceptual closed guard overview
Game changing for my closed guard, not just a collection of moves (although there are some), but shows you how to completely control someone from closed guard, and how and when to apply pressure from bottom. Takes time to absorb and needs to be drilled, but well worth it.
SBG Great video
The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu video impressed me with its clear instruction and high-quality production. The instructor provided helpful tips and tricks for each move, and the video was easy to follow. I recommend it to anyone looking to improve their BJJ skills, regardless of their level. Matt knows his stuff
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::call_me_hand::skin-tone-2:Great!
Organized amazingly. The lesson style always helps me retain Mr. Thorton’s lessons.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::+1::skin-tone-2:Matt does an outstanding job
Matt does an outstanding job breaking down his concepts and theories in an easily understandable way. The methodology behind his closed guard strategy makes a tremendous amount of sense and is something that should be ingrained in the mind of not only a new white belt but also a seasoned black belt. Fantastic instructional!!!
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::call_me_hand::skin-tone-2:Outstanding focus on fundamentals
This is the second series I’ve purchased by Matt Thornton as I love the focus on improving fundamental movements vs just learning more techniques. His details on closed guard are amazing.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::call_me_hand::skin-tone-2:Fantastic video with hours of
Fantastic video with hours of information and drills to improve the understanding of the closed guard.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::call_me_hand::skin-tone-2:An absolute must-have to get profund and practical closed guard knowledge!d knowledge
1. Matt Thornton is an outstanding teacher! His calm and focused way of teaching makes it really easy to understand the material. 2. The content is time- and priceless. It is about maintaining closed guard, positional improvement for getting perfect angles launching your attacks. 3. Little disatvantage: the lections are just named by numbers not by topics. Overall absolute recommondation! I could implement it immediately to my jiu jitsu!
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::+1::skin-tone-2:Best guard instructional on the site
Mindblowing. Will change your game
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::+1::skin-tone-2:J.C.
You cannot go wrong with the SBG Tribe Leader! You learn more in the little "asides" than most instructional video offer in their entire content. The catch, you need to pay attention, practice, and apply! There are no tricks, no three-knuckle earlobe submission guaranteed to submit any opponent. However, you will see improvement in your closed guard and BJJ.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging:BAMF
One of the best instructionals out there. I was a heavy half guarch player and have been trying to improve in other guarch positions. This instructional is helping me make up alot of lost time in an important fundamental position, the closed guarch. Thanks to Matt Thornton for putting this out there.
Ninja Guard
Closed guard is one of my favourite positions. My teacher happens to be super strong in this position but I was always checking out lots of informations on the internet and on bjjfanatics. Matt Thorntons Seminar is well produced and perfectly structured. I also like the fact that he uses two teachers to demonstrate the moves. People often say: Here you learn the basics yadayada. Thing is: most of the people don’t know the basics even if they wear a fancy black belt around their waist. I can say this cause most of the closed guards I know do not cause me a lot of trouble. With this instructional you learn how to hold the position and how to attack effectively from it. I adapted some of the concepts and my opponent have now a very hard time just to stand up. I highly recommend this course.
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::call_me_hand::skin-tone-2:Fantastic!
Matt Thornton and his staff at Straight Blast are master instructors. They understand how students need to learn BJJ, and this curriculum for closed guard certainly reflects that. Highly recommend!
Response from BJJ Fanatics:hugging::call_me_hand::skin-tone-2:
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Every number on this page is computed from the 28 reviews above at build time, out of 87,673 in the full archive. See the methodology for how the corpus is collected and what is excluded.